24.1.2014–9.3.2014
What day of the year is it? Earth Overshoot Day, the date in the yearly calendar when the needs of mankind exceed the capacity of ecosystems to produce natural resources and process the waste and emissions produced by man. At the turn of the millennium it was at the beginning of November. In 2012 it was at the beginning of August. Year by year, this date comes earlier and earlier, with alarming speed. When will the moment come when consumption exceeds the limits of natural resources already at the beginning of the year?
Consumption is now part of everyone’s daily life. It is no longer a so-called Western phenomenon but a global one. It has been estimated that by the year 2030 eighty per cent of the world population will belong to the consuming middle classes. Mass production has lowered the prices of goods, and large chains of retailers require people to consumer more and more at lower and lower prices.
The main issue addressed by the Shop Show exhibition is that of consumer choices and their connections with manufacturing. Where does a product come from? What are its origins? What is mass production really about? The idea for this exhibition came from conversations between Birgitta Ramdell (director of the Malmö Form / Design Center) and Ingrid Sommar and Susanne Helgeson, authors of the book Köp dig Fri! (Buy your Freedom!). The question arose whether people want to change themselves and their consumer habits in a more ethically sustainable direction.
“I believe that in the future people will look upon today’s consumer habits with unbelief and shame. We will tell our grandchildren that did you know that back then we would buy a new television set because the old one was too thick”, industrial designer Jenny Nordberg.
Shop Show has nine sub-themes, including greenwashing, local production, the emotional value of a product and its longevity.
Participating in the exhibition are the following designers/design agencies: Margot Barolo/Brave Production, Kuyichi, Nerdy by Nerds, K.O.I. Kings of Indigo, Mater – ethical living, Aamu Song and Johan Olin, Amanda Ericsson, Azusa Muramaki and Alexander Groves, Fairphone, Lina Sofia Lundin, Petra Lilja, Mette Bundgraad Nielsen, Daan Roosegaarde, Marjan van Aubel and James Shaw, Nån Kåtån, Eugenie Schmidt and Mariko Takahashi, Byarums Bruk, Aino Favén, Lars Beller Fjetland, Kajsa Avila, Róshildur Jónsdóttir and Snaebrjörn ór Stefánsson/Hugdetta, Johan Lindberg, Helga Steppan, Brynhildur Pálsdóttir, Vik Prjónsdóttir and Jenny Nordberg.
The exhibition will be alson shown in three other Nordic countries, the Iceland Design Center, Tarpholt in Denmark, and at DogA in Norway and the Falkenberg Museum in Sweden.
